Appeals Process
Any ruling issued by the NorCal PAD Committee or one of the PAD Subcommittees may be appealed. The specific process for each type of appeal is outlined in the sections below. However, each appeal must adhere to the following process and guidelines:
- Appeals may only be submitted by a Club’s President or Executive Director/ Director of Coaching.
- Once received the Appeal Committee will review the decision of the PAD or Subcommittee and determine if the PAD or Subcommittee misapplied the Rules, Codes, Bylaws, or other documents governing NorCal Premier Soccer, and whether the decision of the PAD or Subcommittee was in accordance with NorCal Premier’s policies, rules, guidelines and the good of the game.
- The Appeal Committee can decide to uphold or overturn the decision of the PAD or Subcommittee. Additionally, the Appeal Committee may return the protest to the PAD or Subcommittee for a rehearing based on the submission of new evidence that was not available at the time of the original decision. A failure by a party to timely submit information shall not be a reason to order a rehearing.
- Any appeal from the decision of the Appeal Committee will be made pursuant to NorCal Premier’s Bylaws and the rules and regulations of US Club Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation.
PAD Committee Appeal
To submit an appeal of a PAD Committee decision, the club must submit a PAD Committee Appeal Form. This form should be used only for appeals of full PAD Committee decisions from PAD Incident Reports or appeals heard by the PAD Committee of PAD Match Reports or Suspensions.
The Club making the appeal must include the specific grounds for making the appeal and must specifically refer to the NorCal Premier bylaw, rule, policy, or procedure that was inappropriately applied by the PAD Committee. To be valid, an appeal must be accompanied by an appeal fee of $250, which will be charged at the conclusion of the appeal form. If the appeal is upheld, the fee will be refunded to the club.
Any appeal of a NorCal PAD Committee decision will be heard by a committee of the NorCal Board of Directors, the Appeals Committee. Once received the Appeals Committee will review each appeal and issue a decision.
CLICK HERE TO FILE A PAD COMMITTEE APPEAL
PAD Match Report Appeal
Any decisions issued by the PAD Match Subcommittee may be appealed to the full PAD Committee. To submit an appeal of a PAD Match Report decision, the club must submit a PAD Match Report Appeal.
The Club making the appeal must include the specific grounds for making the appeal and must specifically refer to the NorCal Premier bylaw, rule, policy, or procedure that was inappropriately applied by the Competitions Committee. To be valid, an appeal must be accompanied by an appeal fee of $50, which will be charged at the conclusion of the appeal form. If the appeal is upheld, the fee will be refunded to the club.
Any appeal of a PAD Match Report will be heard by the full PAD Committee. Once received, the PAD Committee will review each appeal and issue a decision.
CLICK HERE TO FILE A PAD MATCH REPORT APPEAL
Suspension Appeal
Any suspension issued by the Suspension Subcommittee may be appealed to the full PAD Committee. To submit an appeal a suspension issued in relation to a Red Card send-off, the club must submit a Suspension Appeal Form.
The appeal must be based on one of the following areas:
- A misapplication of the rules by the PAD Committee
- A misapplication of the Disciplinary Matrix by the PAD Committee
- Incorrect reporting of a Red Card
The PAD Committee does not review or overturn referee decisions on the field and does not function as VAR for NorCal Premier.
To be valid, an appeal must be accompanied by an appeal fee of $50, which will be charged at the conclusion of this form.
